Eagle Book Club

In the 1950’s Dr. Seuss wrote the Cat and the Hat from a list of 225 vocabulary words provided by his editor. His goal was to create a more interesting reading book than was being used at the time and by most accounts, he was successful. The book contains a story about the conflict between good (the goldfish) and bad (the Cat). Personally, I can’t think of any modern children’s book that compares to the Cat in the Hat. Much like this book, the Harry Potter series is based on the conflict of good versus evil, but obviously, it is meant for a slightly older audience.

This book still appeals to children because of the colorful rhyming text and the crazy antics of the Cat. Children also enjoy the illustrations throughout the book that display some of the bizarre acts of the Cat. The book is very easy to read and most children read it repeatedly.


The Lorax is considered didactic because it entertains the reader while it teachers them a lesson. Written by Dr. Seuss, the Lorax is full of rhyming words and interesting plants and animals. Dr. Seuss uses the colorful story to teach a lesson about destroying the environment through industrialization. The story ends with the warning that the environment will be destroyed and never recover unless the reader takes on the responsibility of changing things. I believe that most children’s books written today are didactic. Most of the children’s books I read to my son are very entertaining and fun to read; however, each book also contains an important lesson for the child. For example, the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today written by Carol McCloud contains an excellent story that my son loves to hear. The book also has a lesson elegantly woven into the story about positive behavior.